


Family Christmas

by HeadcanonsByLila



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, FitzSimmons Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 00:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5476568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadcanonsByLila/pseuds/HeadcanonsByLila
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-SHIELD Christmas at the Simmons household, Secret Santa, a monkey onesie and late-night discussions about the Doctor Who Christmas special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the story from Jemma's little cousin's POV to emphasize the idea that her family has an intensive shipping game. Set in 2012 before everything became a mess. // Just when I was done writing the story it came to me that the Christmas special airs on the 25th not the 24th... Well let's pretend it airs on Christmas Eve on their universe.

It was finally Christmas again. Maddie was not sure whether she was more excited to eat as much as she was capable of or to see her older cousin Jemma again, after so long. Jem was everything Maddie aspired to be: she was smart, friendly, practical, organized, funny and not to mention gorgeous. 

When the doorbell rang the girl rushed down the corridor and opened the door before anyone moved a muscle. She was not surprised to see that her cousin was carrying three enormous plastic bags and that her best friend, Leo, was carrying a gigantic box covered in red wrapping paper.

"Jemma!" The girl saluted cheerfully.

"Hello Maddie!" Her cousin responded and threatened to get inside the house. 

Except there was no way she was coming in before Maddie made an observation: "who put that mistletoe in there?". She had her gaze fixed on the doorframe, where three small leaves hung among the traditional Christmas garland. Jemma sighed in disdain whereas her friend quivered (quite a subtle movement, though Lizzie did notice it). 

"Do we really have to do this, Maddie? It's bloody freezing in here!" 

The girl didn't need to say a word to persuade her cousin. A simple frown was enough to warn: just kiss him already! 

When Jemma did kiss her friend - on the cheek, of course, Maddie spotted the poor man's face redden. It might have seemed like no big deal for Jemma, but to him it was certainly a marvelous gift. It was obvious he had a crush on her from the day they first came to spend Christmas together. Since then, the entire family had been shipping them. 

After everyone greeted the two friends and asked how life in America was going, Maddie helped them carry their luggage upstairs. She was happy to share a room with her older cousin again. From Christmas to New Year's Day, that twenty five square meters bedroom was theirs. And they would surely make the best of it. Meanwhile, Leo would settle in with uncle Connor, the stinky 40 year-old who was only sober once or twice a month. At least their room was bigger and its window faced the backyard. 

"Any plans for tonight?" Maddie asked while looking for a clean towel.

"After our little secret Santa, you mean?" 

"What do you think?"

Their annual agenda usually consisted of watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special, sharing funny stories and playing dress up games online. The girl had to make sure that year would be no different. 

Jemma smirked in confirmation. "I guess we shall do what we always do." She grabbed the towel and made her way to the bathroom. International flights always make anyone crave a good scrub, especially Jemma Simmons. 

 

...

 

Maddie knew their grandmother would make them wear paper crowns and eat her soggy asparagus. She tried to put the awful remembrance of the taste behind, but it was impossible. Between fake smiles and play pretend, the entire family managed to eat the elder's homemade dishes soon enough to enjoy the rest of their feast. Jemma made sure to express gratitude for not having to eat greasy pork. According to her, a friend had invited her over for thanksgiving dinner. The oil was dripping in a way the dead animal seemed to be crying, begging for mercy. 

Even though everyone's stomachs ached by Jemma's stories, there was still plenty of room for dessert. Whoever made that pudding excelled at life. After enjoying the sweet taste in their mouths, the family headed to the living room to begin their Secret Santa. The grandmother took the lead and made a beautiful speech as usual. She handed a small cardboard box to uncle Connor, who took way too long to open the gift. Eventually Jemma's mother helped him untie the ribbon and revealed a boring pair of grey socks. The man didn't express satisfaction nor disappointment; instead, he happily announced to have gotten his younger sister's boyfriend (with whom she'd split up a couple of weeks before the holiday). An awkward silence remained in the room for a few seconds until the drunk uncle manifested again: "I actually didn't buy him anything because I am broke." Then burst into laughter. 

Aunt Jane, the youngest, took the turn and summarized how much her Secret Santa meant to her. Everyone knew it was the grandmother due to the manner she spoke. The gift was a baby-blue kettle and a box of Twinings, the old woman's favorite brand of tea. 

"Who's next?" Jemma's father asked and answered in a blink of an eye "Jemma dear, why don't you go?"

She didn't seem to be willing to go next, but Jemma did not brush the suggestion aside either. She grabbed a small box from beneath her chair and began her speech: 

"My Secret Santa is also very dear to me. Of course, you all are, but this person is certainly more than that. For years I've stood beside him, envious of how quickly he solves problems and how smart he is. This person, whom I accidentally revealed to be a male, is someone I couldn't live without - biologically speaking, because of genes and all of that-" 

Her father rose from the couch and hugged his daughter tightly. When they let go of each other, his face was red and wet. It was no secret he cried when he got emotional. The gift was revealed to be a golden statuette of the Millennium Falcon. From where Maddie sat, the small replica of the starship seemed highly detailed. The girl wished her cousin's Secret Santa had been her instead. "I knew how much you wanted a Falcon dipped in gold," Jemma said "now you have one!" 

The man still looked overwhelmed when he proceeded the game: 

"I guess I am next." He hawked whilst some of the family members laughed at his conclusion "The person I got is also very dear to me. He is already part of the family in my point of view. Plus if it weren't for him, my baby girl would be all Americanised by now." He then stood and walked towards the chair Leo was sitting. The young man's feet fidgeted as he got up and shook hands with his friend's father. After unwrapping a delicate tinsel ribbon, he peeked in before revealing the gift. It was not only one, but two objects: an astrolabe and another old navigation instrument unfamiliar to Maddie. 

"Thank you, Mr Simmons" he twirled the object with his hands "Though I've no clue how to use a sextant" 

The man smiled at him and turned to his daughter "I guess you and Jem are going to learn together." 

"She doesn't know how to use it either?" 

Jemma rolled her eyes. She was supposedly capable of doing everything, hence why she sighed in annoyance. 

"I tried to teach her when she was little, but she never held it properly and the angles always messed up. Perhaps this time you could help her." And then winked at him.

Uncle Connor hushed them and made the game keep on. Fitz shyly raised his bag and attempted a speech: "my Secret Santa is... uh... well..." At this point every person in the room knew who he'd gotten, yet no one dared to interfere. "the first English person I've ever befriended and... uh... she is very smart and kind and..." 

Jemma interrupted the not-so-well-structured speech and threw her arms around him. Jemma's father immediately grabbed his camera and took as many pictures as he could. Maddie did the same using her cellphone camera. Although the hug didn't last long, it was enough to tousle her braid. Leo handed the bag to her, who leaned in for another hug. 

 

 

At midnight, after the game was over and their relatives had either gone back to their homes or withdrawn themselves to their rooms, Maddie, Jemma and Leo sat down to watch the annual Doctor Who Christmas special. Maddie found it hilarious that her cousin was wearing a pink sweater, Tardis sweatpants and her traditional cheetah print slippers. The sight was unusual for the so-tidy and sorted Jemma Simmons, but somehow she still looked cute in that bizarre sleepwear. Her friend was wearing his remarkable monkey onesie - as seen in many of the all-nighter pictures Jemma had sent to Maddie. The girl tried not to laugh. She was not surprised those two matched each other so well. 

"This Walter kid is me" Fitz said, and just a few seconds later "you know what, never mind."

"Fifty years later and he's still talking to snowmen! Honestly!" 

The comments did not cease.

"I don't know about you" the young man started "but I don't trust this Oswin girl." 

"Neither do I" Jemma replied "perhaps we're still not over Amy and Rory." 

"Speaking of which" Maddie interrupted "aren't those Amy's specs?" 

The episode was paused so the two friends could analyze every detail of the scene. The young girl was starting to ponder if it had been a good choice to point out the pair of spectacles after all. 

"Doctor Who?" Leo repeated Clara's words and then laughed until the opening credits were over. 

"Wait, did you hear that, Fitz?" Jemma asked "the lady died and her body was only found a month later? How is this even possible?" 

They paused again and went back to the beginning of the scene. Honestly, Maddie had no patience to watch the episode with them anymore. Last year they didn't seem to care about what happened, neither had them in 2010 or 2009. 

"You know what, I'm going to watch the episode upstairs" the girl said "I'll be back later." 

The two friends did not seem to notice her leaving. Instead, they debated whether it was scientifically possible for a person to be frozen alive or not. One of them brought up Steve Rogers and their discussion got louder and louder. Fortunately the Simmons family was constituted of heavy sleepers, or else the house would already be awaken. 

After occasional unexpected cries such as "I knew she's the girl who played young Lily Potter!" or "Sherlock Holmes!" and exasperated voices discussing things such as "well, you're telling me she's not allowed to kiss him because they just met? That's sexist, Fitz!", Maddie finished watching the episode. She cogitated going straight to bed, but decided to go downstairs and wish goodnight to the odd pair of friends. 

The living room was illuminated by a dim TV screen. As the girl approached the couch, she noticed her cousin was leaning on the young man's left shoulder. The scene on play was the Doctor trying to figure out why the snow was still falling if the Great Intelligence wasn't real to doctor Simeon anymore. 

"Hi" Maddie hoped she was not being annoying "I just wanted to say goodnight."

Leo paused at 51:55 and turned his head to the tiny figure. He was chewing something crunchy - probably popcorn and pressed his index against his lips. "She fell asleep?" The girl whispered. It was obviously a rhetorical question, but Fitz nodded anyway.

Jemma cousin must've been very tired to sleep during her favorite television program. 

"Well then" the girl said "can you take her upstairs?" 

"Um, no, I can't" the poor man answered "I'm not strong enough to lift anything that heavy."

Jemma would have punched him in the face if she were awake. "I didn't mean to be pejorative, it's just that- I'm no bodybuilder." 

Maddie laughed at the idea of the thin man bench-pressing. "So you're going to leave the damsel to freeze in this cold dungeon?" The girl teased.

"No, I'm gonna wrap this blanket around her like she's a delicate burrito." 

The two awaken youths laughed at their silliness. Maddie decided to go to bed and set her alarm to wake her up before Fitz and Jemma left to visit his mother in Glasgow. 

... 

When the girl went tiptoeing to the living room four hours later, she found the two friends asleep on the couch. They looked extremely cute together, even though one of his hands was on her face and her feet were resting on his chest like a seat belt. Lizzie took a picture of them. She would definitely add that one to their wedding video someday. 

Someday when they finally realized they'd been an old married couple for too long and became a real married couple.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this from 12am to 2am on my phone so if you notice any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know!


End file.
